Former captain Sourav Ganguly on Monday said that the time has come when India should have different captains for Tests and limited over matches in order to ease the workload on present skipperMahendra Singh Dhoni.

Dhoni, who has been leading in all three formats for quite some time as well as keeping wickets, has been under tremendous pressure in recent times and that seems to have taken a toll on his performance.

Apart from losing eight Tests on the trot overseas, Dhoni has now lost two consecutive Tests at home in the ongoing grudge series against England. It is for the first time that India have lost back-to-back matches at home in 12 years.

Clearly, time has come for some change. Ganguly feels rather than sacking Dhoni, selectors must seriously consider split captaincy, a format that is used all over the world.

"Every team in the world has gone with split captaincy. I am not saying the selectors should sack Dhoni and say 'you are out'. I have always said there is too much burden on him. I think we are losing M.S. Dhoni as a player," Ganguly told Headlines Today.

"Captaincy and your ability as a player are inter-linked. I think Dhoni is a much better one-day captain than he is a Test captain," he added.

There is no denying that Dhoni looks jaded as a captain and that has also affected his run with the bat. Splitting captaincy can give him some relief, especially as a captain in the limited over formats, in which he seems more comfortable.

On the other hand, it would also provide India the opportunity to groom a young captain without making a huge change in this time of transition for India.

Former cricketers react to Ganguly's suggestion

Reacting to Ganguly's suggestion to reduce the burden on Dhoni, former cricketer Lalchand Rajput said, "It is true that work load on Dhoni is a lot. Doing away with one form of game as captain is an option, but it should be done after speaking with him."

Another former cricketer Arshad Ayub said, "I think it would be too soon to ask Dhoni to leave the captaincy. He has done well for us and we should give him a chance."